The Chandrabhaga fair is held every year in the month of Kartik at –

Correct — option (4), Jhalrapatan.

The fair takes its name from the Chandrabhaga, a small stream. The Jhalawar District Gazetteer (1964) says it flows for only seven miles through Jhalrapatan tehsil before joining the Kalisindh, and that on Kartik Purnima thousands bathe in it at Chandravati, near Jhalrapatan.

The same gazetteer names the Chandrabhaga Kartik Fair as a cattle fair at Jhalrapatan. It coincides with the religious mela held on the banks of the Chandrabhaga on the night of the last day of Kartik.

Rajasthan Tourism's Jhalawar page also places the Chandrabhaga Fair at Jhalarapatan, about six kilometres from Jhalawar, in the month of Kartik. The fair is held at option (4), Jhalrapatan.

The idea to remember: Chandrabhaga Fair = Jhalrapatan, in Kartik: a holy dip in the Chandrabhaga and a cattle fair.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Bundi — Bundi also has a Kartik fair, but not this one. The Bundi District Gazetteer (1964) lists a Kartik Purnima fair held at Keshoraipatan for seven days.

  The same gazetteer describes two Teej fairs in Bundi, on the third day of the bright half of Shravan and on the third day of Bhadwa. Bundi answers a question on its Teej fairs.

• (2)
  Banswara — The Chandrabhaga, per the Jhalawar gazetteer, runs for just seven miles through Jhalrapatan tehsil before joining the Kalisindh, so its fair is at Jhalrapatan.

  The Banswara District Gazetteer (1974) describes other fairs there, such as the one held at the Ghotia Amba temple in the village of Borigama on Chaitra Badi 15. Banswara answers a question on the Ghotia Amba fair.

• (3)
  Dungarpur — The Chandrabhaga fair belongs to Jhalrapatan, where the Jhalawar gazetteer places both the river and its Kartik fair.

  The Dungarpur District Gazetteer (1974) describes the Baneshwar fair, held yearly from Magha Shukla Ekadashi to Magha Purnima at the confluence of the Mahi and Som, a predominantly tribal fair dominated by Bhils. Dungarpur answers a question on the Baneshwar fair.

At Jhalrapatan a bathing day and a livestock market fall together. The Jhalawar gazetteer says the Kartik cattle fair coincides with the night mela on the Chandrabhaga, and cows, bullocks, buffaloes, horses and camels are brought for sale.

The fair goes back at least to the nineteenth century. The gazetteer quotes Capt. H. B. Abbott's settlement report of 1885, which records two large cattle fairs at Jhalrapatan: one in October on the Chandrabhaga, where about 7,000 cattle were sold, and one in April.

The bathing spot, Chandravati, is an ancient site near Jhalrapatan, with the ruins of an old city on the Chandrabhaga's left bank.

Key facts

• Jhalawar District Gazetteer (1964): the Chandrabhaga flows for seven miles through Jhalrapatan tehsil before joining the Kalisindh near Khandia.
• On Kartik Purnima, per the gazetteer, thousands bathe in the Chandrabhaga at Chandravati, near Jhalrapatan.
• The Chandrabhaga Kartik cattle fair coincides with the mela held on the river's banks on the night of the last day of Kartik.
• Capt. H. B. Abbott's 1885 settlement report recorded about 7,000 cattle sold at the October fair on the Chandrabhaga at Jhalrapatan.
• Rajasthan Tourism places the Chandrabhaga Fair at Jhalarapatan, about six kilometres from Jhalawar, in Kartik (October–November).

Common traps

• Picking Bundi because it also has a Kartik fair: its Kartik Purnima fair is at Keshoraipatan, while the Chandrabhaga fair is at Jhalrapatan.
• Confusing Jhalrapatan with Jhalawar town: Rajasthan Tourism places the fair at Jhalarapatan, about six kilometres from Jhalawar.
• Mixing the two Jhalrapatan cattle fairs: the Chandrabhaga fair is in Kartik, the Gomti Sagar fair in Baisakh.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Baneshwar fair is held at the confluence of which rivers?

  • (a)Mahi and Som
  • (b)Chambal and Kali Sindh
  • (c)Chandrabhaga and Kalisindh
  • (d)Banas and Berach
  Answer(1) — The Dungarpur District Gazetteer places the Baneshwar fair at the confluence of the Mahi and Som. Option (3) is where the Chandrabhaga ends, near Khandia in Jhalrapatan tehsil; options (2) and (4) are not the confluence the gazetteer names.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which month is the Chandrabhaga cattle fair at Jhalrapatan held, according to the Jhalawar District Gazetteer?

  • (a)Baisakh
  • (b)Kartik
  • (c)Chaitra
  • (d)Magha
  Answer(2) — The gazetteer calls it the Chandrabhaga Kartik Fair, held with the mela on the night of the last day of Kartik. Option (1) is the month of the Gomti Sagar fair at Jhalrapatan; options (3) and (4) are not the month the gazetteer gives.